Today we welcome to the pages of NorthStarNews.com the savvy fundraising professionals, Pearl Saad and Mel Shaw, principals of Saad & Shaw. Their new column – FUNdraising Good Times! – will be a regular feature. We anticipate their advice and guidance will be of great benefit to our readers who are engaged in raising funds for community-based and large organizations. Given the tremendous strategic fundraising needs of many African-American organizations, we believe the team of Saad and Shaw will be a valuable content partner.

Melvin Shaw is a seasoned fundraising professional and the visionary behind the United Negro College Fund’s Lou Rawls Parade of Stars Telethon. He has served as the Vice President for Development for the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, and Executive Director of the Texas Association of Developing Colleges. Mel is a graduate of Lane College, the University of Memphis and was a fellow at the Harvard University Institute of Education Management. Pearl Saad is a Certified Fundraising Executive and has served as the Development Director for the Women’s Funding Network. Through her previous work as the principal of her own firm, PHRASED WRITE, she helped her clients secure more than $6 million in funding. Pearl is a graduate of the University of California – Berkeley and Cal State University East Bay. She is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP).

NorthStar News welcomes Saad and Shaw, and their ongoing contribution to informing our readership and supporting our community.